People visit an exhibition about China's victory over poverty at the National Museum of China on April 8, 2021. Photos: IC

China has not seen people falling back into poverty in large numbers in the first half of this year, an official from the National Rural Revitalization Administration (NRRA) said on Monday, emphasizing that the poverty alleviation achievements are being consolidated.

The official said the department has set up a special work group to alleviate the impact brought by the COVID-19 epidemic with policy and financial measures to support employment and rural development.

Xu Jianmin, an official from the NRRA, said that up to now, 65 percent of those monitored have eliminated the risk of returning to poverty, and support measures have been implemented to the rest 35 percent, and the risk of them returning to poverty will be eliminated following a period of hard work.

Relocating people out of poverty is crucial to consolidating and expanding the achievements of overall poverty alleviation. The NRRA said that 4.594 million people have been relocated out of poverty and employed as of June of this year, exceeding levels at the end of 2021.

After years of continuous efforts, China has declared victory in the battle against absolute poverty and has shifted focus to preventing people from falling back into poverty, with officials repeatedly stressing the need for consolidating poverty alleviation achievements. 

During an inspection in Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region from July 1 to 4, Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua stressed efforts to consolidate poverty alleviation achievements and push forward rural vitalization on all fronts to ensure that people do not fall back into poverty in large numbers, according to Xinhua News Agency.

In Xizang, Hu learned about the employment and income of people who had been lifted out of poverty, local agricultural development, rural infrastructure construction and public services in the region.

Consolidating poverty alleviation outcomes should be a priority for areas having been lifted out of poverty, said Hu, calling for continuous efforts to increase people's income by developing modern agriculture and animal husbandry practices, boosting the processing and circulation of agricultural products, and developing rural tourism, among others.

China will boost agricultural production and promote all-round rural revitalization, according to this year's Government Work Report released in March. The country will fully consolidate and build on its achievements in poverty elimination, and see that people do not return to impoverishment living standards in large numbers, according to the report.

Global Times